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Investigate Affiliate
Programs
Once you have nailed down your
passion, did your initial research, and developed a website, your next step will be to
investigate and find affiliate programs that fit your niche/website
theme.
To find affiliate programs for your website, you can check out
some affiliate brokerage services and the many affiliate
programs they have available on their respective
sites. (Affiliate brokerage services
are companies that bring the affiliate marketer and the merchant
together).
As an affiliate marketer, you can join
the affiliate brokerage service for free. Once you have joined, you
will need to apply for each affiliate program that you feel will fit
your niche or website theme. The Merchant will look at your site and
give you a yes or no response, if they want you to advertise for
them.
Since you are a new site, don't get discouraged if some of the
affiliate programs you apply for reject you --that will change as
your website grows. In fact, you may find companies coming to you to
market their products.
Note:
When you check out some of the affiliate programs, such as Clickbank,
Commission Junction, LinkShare, etc., they will indicate whether they want you to have a website or
not. Also, check out the rules:
-
when payout starts-how long they hold your commission
-
how
many sells you have to have before you will receive your money
--trust me, this sometimes overrides your payout maximum.
Check out the commission structure-preferably you would like to have a nice return for
selling their product on your site. However, there may be cases
when you want a product because it compliments your site and it's a
genuine need for your customers.
Below is a list of some of the Affiliate
Brokerage Services that brings the merchant and the affiliate
together.
Affiliate Brokerage
Services To Join
For Affiliate Revenue
These companies offers a way in which
affiliate marketers and merchants can find each other. And for the
affiliate, to start their revenue making venture.
For Merchants, with affiliates selling your product you will
gain greater Internet exposure of your products. But will also help
in your page ranking. But don't make that your sole purpose.
(If your product is not of quality, or if your customer service below
par-trust me, you'll hear about it.)
For Affiliates, the cost to join the below programs are
free. Here you will be able to choose the different products
or services that meet your niche. In some instances merchants will
except you instantly, in others, they will look at your website
before approving you into the program. Will all merchants accept you?
No. But don't get discouraged-that's really part of paying your dues
in the beginning.
- Commission
Junction
-- Good company to do business with.
- ClickBank -- ClickBank is a great place to get started for those
with and without a website.
- Clixgalore
- Shareasale
-- Before you can add products through Shareasale, they will
verify your info. May take a day or two.
- LinkShare
-- LinkShare offers quality companies to fit your business and
website. Take a look through the different
companies. Some companies give you immediate approval,
other need to look at your site before deciding. (Note:
some companies pay you monthly--without a minimum payout. This
is one reason I'm rather fond of LinkShare because they pay you
on a weekly basis. Weekly payday is a new change they put
into place, which is very nice if you need the money to make
money when you first begin)
- OneNetworkDirect
- Looking for software to add to your site, then you will
be interested in OneNetworkDirect. Added benefit, they give
bonuses based on the sells you produced.
Choosing an
Affiliate Program
Whether the affiliate program is associated with
an affiliate brokerage firm or it is a standalone, you will quickly
learn that some are good and some are not. What
you need to do is research the company, and see what customers are
saying about them.
When choosing
an affiliate program keep the following thoughts in the forefront:
-
Method
of payment. - Check or Paypal.
-
Commission
Structure - At what dollar amount do you have to reach before
payout.
-
What
is the hold time for income earned
-
Do your research-
check out their reputation. If people are not being paid-it will
be quickly revealed.
-
How long have
they been in business. If it has been less than 6 months-do your
due diligence.
-
Customer Service
- do they take care of their customers, or ignore them after
they buy the product.
TIP: With two-tier programs, which offers the possibility
of earning residual income off of affiliates that join under you, I
will not even recommend them to visitors unless I have been paid by
the company. No since having many getting burned by unscrupulous merchants.
Putting Your Own Product
On-line
Just as an FYI, if you are
looking to create an e-book or digital product, the following
affiliate brokerage companies are a good starting point.
- Clickbank
-- It's free to sign up, and customers can pay with Visa,
Mastercard, online checks, PayPay and more. There is a one
time set-up fee of $49.95 to activate your account. They
take a small percentage of your sale for a service fee.
-
PayLoadz
: Sell Downloads Online
--
It's free to sign up, and they guide you through the process of
putting your product on their site. You will need a
standard business account through PayPal (it's free) -- and you
can begin accepting PayPal payments or credit card payments
through the PayPal system.
- PayPal-You can set up your
payment processing through PayPal. Your customers can pay using PayPal or credit card. They take a small percentage of your sale
for a service fee.
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